2004 PBA Fiesta Conference
The 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference, or known as the 2004 Gran Matador Brandy-PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was tournament held by the Philippine Basketball Association and the first ever edition of the PBA Fiesta Conference. [1]
| 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | February 22 – July 7, 2004 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| Runners-up | Red Bull Barako |
| Awards | |
| Best Player | Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra) |
| Best Import | Victor Thomas (Red Bull) |
| Finals MVP | Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra) |
| PBA Fiesta Conference chronology | |
| PBA conference chronology | |
Prior to the formation of the said conference, the league had two import-laced conferences known as the PBA Commissioner's Cup (with an import height-limit of 6-8), and the PBA Governor's Cup (with an import height-limit of 6-4). However, in 2003, the two conferences were scrapped and was replaced with an Invitational tournament, with an All-Filipino local squad along with foreign teams) and an import-laced Reinforced Conference.
But, in 2004, the league changed its calendar from a calendar year to a fiscal year. As a preparation for the new format, the tournament was institutionalized in 2004 as a transitional tournament. The first Fiesta Conference was played from February–July 2004. [2]
Opening ceremonies
The muses for the participating teams are as follows:
| Team | Muse |
|---|---|
| Alaska Aces | Iya Villania |
| Barangay Ginebra Kings | Belinda Bright and Maricar de Mesa |
| Coca-Cola Tigers | Iza Calzado |
| FedEx Express | Katarina Perez |
| Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | Jennylyn Mercado |
| Red Bull Barako | |
| San Miguel Beermen | Jenny Manuel |
| Shell Turbo Chargers | Michelle Estevez |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | |
| Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | Nancy Castiglione |
2004 PBA All-Star Game
The league held its All-Star Weekend in August 15, 2004 at the jampacked New Cebu City Coliseum, with the revived North vs South All-Stars format. [3] The South All-Stars defeated the Northern selection, 130-128, in a closely fought contest. Asi Taulava and Jimmy Alapag were named co-MVP of the All-Star Game.
Elimination round
| Qualified for quarterfinals | |
| Qualified for wildcards |
| # | Team | W | L | GB | PCT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 16 | 2 | -- | .889 | |
| 2 | Alaska Aces | 11 | 7 | 5 | .611 | |
| 3 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 11 | 7 | 5 | .611 | |
| 4 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 11 | 7 | 5 | .611 | |
| 5 | Red Bull Barako | 10 | 8 | 6 | .556 | |
| 6 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 8 | 10 | 8 | .444 | |
| 7 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 7 | 11 | 9 | .389 | +5 |
| 8 | Shell Turbo Chargers | 7 | 11 | 9 | .389 | -5 |
| 9 | FedEx Express | 5 | 13 | 11 | .278 | |
| 10 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 4 | 14 | 12 | .222 |
| Team | Streak (W) | Streak (L) |
|---|---|---|
| San Miguel Beermen | +6 | -1 |
| Alaska Aces | +5 | -2 |
| Coca-Cola Tigers | +4 | -3 |
| Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | +4 | -5 |
| Red Bull Barako | +3 | -2 |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | +3 | -3 |
| Barangay Ginebra Kings | +2 | -5 |
| Shell Turbo Chargers | +3 | -7 |
| FedEx Express | +2 | -6 |
| Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | +2 | -8 |
Alaska, Coca-Cola and Talk ‘N Text were tied for second spot. To break the deadlock, the three ballclubs were ranked according to quotient. Alaska had the highest with plus-41, Coca-Cola with minus-14 and TNT with minus-27. That relegated the Phone Pals to fourth overall with a twice-to-beat advantage over Number 9 FedEx in the wildcard phase. Alaska and Coca-Cola will slug it out for the number 2 spot and the winner joins San Miguel safely in the quarterfinals.
Wildcard phase
Quarterfinals
| Qualified for semifinals |
Group A
| # | Team | W | L | GB | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 3 | 0 | -- | 1.000 |
| 2 | Red Bull Barako | 2 | 1 | 1 | .667 |
| 3 | San Miguel Beermen | 1 | 2 | 2 | .333 |
| 4 | U.S. Pro-Am Selection | 0 | 3 | 3 | .000 |
Group B
| # | Team | W | L | GB | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 3 | 0 | -- | 1.000 |
| 2 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 2 | 1 | 1 | .667 |
| 3 | Alaska Aces | 1 | 2 | 2 | .333 |
| 4 | UBC Thunderbirds | 0 | 3 | 3 | .000 |
Two guest teams participated in the tournament, the University of British Columbia men's basketball team and the US Pro-Am Selection. Both never won a single game in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Bracket
| Semifinals (original seed) (Best-of-3) | Finals (Best-of-5) | ||||||||
| A1 | Talk 'N Text (4) | 1 | |||||||
| B2 | Barangay Ginebra (7) | 2 | |||||||
| A2 | Barangay Ginebra (7) | 3 | |||||||
| B2 | Red Bull (5) | 1 | |||||||
| B1 | Coca-Cola (3) | 1 | |||||||
| A2 | Red Bull (5) | 2 | |||||||
Semifinals
Talk 'N Text–Barangay Ginebra series
June 27 |
| Talk 'N Text Phone Pals 103, Barangay Ginebra Kings 111 | ||
| Barangay Ginebra wins series, 2–1 |
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City |
Coca-Cola–Red Bull series
June 27 |
| Coca-Cola Tigers 91, Red Bull Barako 101 | ||
| Red Bull wins series, 2–1 |
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City |
Third-place playoff
Finals
July 7 |
| Red Bull Barako 86, Barangay Ginebra Kings 103 | ||
| Barangay Ginebra wins series, 3–1 |
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City |
The Barangay Ginebra Kings ended their seven-year title drought with a 3-1 series victory over Red Bull Barako in the Finals.
Awards
Eric Menk of Barangay Ginebra was named the Best Player of the Conference while Red Bull's Victor Thomas is the conference Best Import.
Broadcast notes
| Game | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | ||
| Game 2 | ||
| Game 3 | ||
| Game 4 | Mico Halili | TJ Manotoc |
References
- "PBA Fiesta Conference reels off". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- "It's Barakos against Kings for Fiesta title". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- "All-Star game in Cebu today". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
External links
| Preceded by 2003 PBA season |
PBA seasons Transitional conference |
Succeeded by 2004-05 PBA season |
| Preceded by 2003 PBA Reinforced Conference |
PBA conferences 2004 |
Succeeded by 2004-05 PBA Philippine Cup |
|
